Rasmus, Santos ready for rehab assignments

TORONTO -- Colby Rasmus will start his rehab assignment at designated hitter when he joins Triple-A Buffalo in Toledo on Thursday, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said Monday.

The center fielder hasn't played since May 12 due to right hamstring tightness.

He'll need to play at least a few rehab games with the Bisons before returning to the Blue Jays' lineup.

Kevin Pillar and Anthony Gose have been sharing duties in center field in his absence.

Rasmus is hitting .222 with nine home runs and 19 RBIs in 37 games this season, though he'd turned around a slow start and was hitting .289 with four homers and 10 RBIs in the 10 games prior to his injury.

In other injury news, right-hander Sergio Santos threw a bullpen session on Sunday and has since departed for his rehab assignment with Double-A New Hampshire. The 30-year-old reliever hasn't pitched since May 9 when he started to experience right forearm tenderness.

Santos is 0-2 with five saves and a 9.00 ERA in 12 innings with the Blue Jays this season.

He could rejoin the team as early as this weekend, when Toronto travels to Baltimore for a four-game series against the Orioles.

Hutchison frustrated by inconsistency

TORONTO -- Drew Hutchison is frustrated by his inability to execute pitches, which he's convinced is the main reason behind his inconsistency this season.

It's a refrain he repeated to reporters prior to Monday's game against the Twins, a day after he endured his worst start of 2014 when he pitched a season-low three innings and gave up five runs and six hits in a 5-0 loss to the Cardinals.

The 23-year-old, who missed the entire 2013 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, insists this frustrating inconsistency -- which saw him at his best a week ago against Detroit, and at his worst in yesterday's outing -- isn't due to any physical ailment or fatigue. Hutchison said he's feels fine every time he takes the ball.

"I'm not trying to go out there and be a tough guy and say I'm not feeling this, or I'm not feeling that," he said. "Physically I've felt the exact same every time I've taken the ball, which is why it is frustrating."

But the statistics that highlight his struggles with consistency are worth noting. On regular rest in between starts, the right-hander has fared significantly worse than when he's given at least an extra day.

With regular rest, his ERA is 5.93 (20 earned runs in 30 1/3 innings) with seven home runs, 15 walks and 22 strikeouts; and when given at least an extra day, his ERA is 2.62 (13 earned runs in 44 2/3 innings), with eight walks and 45 strikeouts.

His home-road splits are also in stark contrast of one another. At Rogers Centre, he's posted an 8.72 ERA (21 earned runs in 21 2/3 innings), with seven homers, 13 walks and 21 strikeouts. But on the road, he's been lights-out with a 2.03 ERA (12 earned runs in 53 1/3 innings), three home runs, 10 walks and 46 strikeouts over eight starts. That's the third-best road ERA among starters in the American League.

It's worth mentioning that four of his six starts that came with regular rest were also home games, and Rogers Centre tends to be a hitter-friendly park. And given the relatively small sample size, it's reasonable to think those numbers will eventually even out. But even Hutchison seems perplexed by them.

"It's one of those things you look at and say, 'Wow' to yourself," he said. "I think when I first came up in 2012 it was the complete opposite. I was really good at home and terrible on the road. It just works out that way. With eight or nine starts on the road, maybe that has something to do with it. I've had more innings on the road than [at home]. You have a couple of plunkers and it goes one way or the other."

Pentecost joins Jenkins as Kennesaw State pick

TORONTO -- Chad Jenkins is no longer the only Owl in the Blue Jays' nest.

Max Pentecost became the second Kennesaw State University first-rounder to be selected by the Blue Jays after he was taken 11th overall on the opening day of the First-Year Player Draft over the weekend.

The club selected Jenkins, a relief pitcher, back in the 2009 Draft with the 20th pick, at the time making him the highest KSU draft choice ever. But that distinction now belongs to Pentecost.

"I don't know him all that well, but I've talked to him a little bit and I know he's a good kid," said Jenkins, who met Pentecost at the KSU training facilities in the offseason, where the two work out. "Every time I see him, he's always working."

Pentecost's Owls were eliminated from the NCAA Super Regionals this weekend when they fell to Louisville, 7-4, on Saturday. The 21-year-old gave his team a lead with a bases-loaded, two-run double in the bottom of the third.

Jenkins said the Owls' successes have helped raise the school's profile as a college baseball force, and he's excited to see a guy from KSU taken so high in the Draft.

"I'm sure him drawing in scouts only helps more guys [from Kennesaw] get the opportunity to get to the next level," said Jenkins, who pitched for three seasons at KSU before turning pro. "Everyone wants a banner on their wall, but it's awesome we're seeing guys get to the next level. That's huge. It gets the school more publicity in the long run."

Jamie Ross is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.